Free market watchdog Americans for Prosperity is not at all pleased with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s new proposal for internet regulation, and is spending $1.4M on television and cable to “educate consumers on the harms of looming Internet regulations.”
AFP believes that Genachowski is circumventing the Supreme Court’s recent Comcast/BitTorrent decision. Genachowski, on the other hand, believes that was a narrow ruling overturning the FCC’s previous legal underpinning for internet regulation and in no way a ruling that the FCC had no authority in the matter.
“The wave of new regulations proposed by the FCC amounts to nothing less than a Washington takeover of the Internet,” says AFP VP for Policy Phil Kerpen. “In light of this looming threat, our organization is devoting significant resources — over $1.4 million — to ensure Americans are aware of what’s at stake in this debate over the future of the Internet.”
AFP says it will kick off the campaign in Pennsylvania, Hawaii and Washington DC.
RBR-TVBR observation: One of the things you have to love about America is the ability to run political issue ads targeting one of the government agencies that regulates political issue ads. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing.
